The Rescuers 3: Back to the Outback
by knightcommander
Summary: The world's most famous mice are once again thrown into the Australian Outback when the daughter of a prominent Australian biologist is kidnapped. And this time, they have help from an unlikely source. Joint project between me and my girlfriend Laramie.


**The Rescuers 3: Back to the Outback**

By Justin Jurek and Laramie Page

_Chapter 1: Loomings  
_

One cannot possibly imagine what being in the middle of the desert is like until one has actually been there themselves. Scorching temperatures that cook a man like a bread loaf in a oven and the mind numbing thirst that comes with the raging heat sound like things that can only come out of a hiker's horror story. What made it even worse was that the vast majority of people on the planet had no clue how to survive in such an environment, which made the idea of the hellish torture of heat and thirst, followed by the biting cold of the night, even more nightmarish to the average ear.

Ask any man who has been lost in the furnace of a desert, and he'll tell you it's like walking through the deepest pits of Hades itself. All around, nothing scorching sand and sun baked rock, with mirages playing with the mind and making one's sanity slowly ebb away as the promise of water is fulfilled only by more sand. The heat slowly cooking one's being was one that words simply failed to describe. This was the desert of Australia, the fabled Outback... that land down under.  
If the heat here was bad for humans, it was even worse for animals... especially those that couldn't regulate their body temperature.

Such was the case for the large blue goanna that was now trying to crawl across the desert sands, looking for water to cool it's baking body. This was Joanna.

Normally, goannas knew exactly where to go in the desert. But Joanna was unique. This female had been hand reared by a human, and therefore had no idea how to survive in the wild. It was a miracle that she had managed to last for the three days she had been out here as it was. Joanna, though starving and dehydrated, considered herself lucky. The human that had been her owner was a poacher named Percival C. McLeach. Normally, poachers like him would have sold her on the black market trade in exotic pets, off to some distant land. Instead, he kept her as a pet. It wasn't always pleasant. McLeach had a nasty temper and often took his frustrations out on Joanna. He had even threatened to kill her a couple of times. But now that McLeach was gone, (thanks to an incident at Crocodile Falls) Joanna was on her own. Sometimes, Joanna seemed to want to be back in human hands, even if McLeach had been rough with her. She simply didn't know what she was doing out here.

She panted. She needed water. The heat was slowly seeping her life away. Water. She had to find it. Her throat burned with thirst. But before Joanna was about to give up, she spotted something. Trees and grass. Joanna had made it to the end of the barren land. Her strength was about exhausted. She wanted now only to sleep. But she had to press on. Her instincts told her water was near, because of the plants. She kept dragging herself onwards, determined to cheat death.

Joanna looked everywhere for so much as a puddle to quench herself. She almost longed to be back at Croc Falls, which she had left behind when McLeach was apparently killed. There was plenty of water there. But now she was stuck here, too far away from the Falls and too close to death's threshold to even try to go back. Joanna then heard something. A sound that filled her heart with happiness. Running water. "Ahhh." She hissed, rushing toward the sound, eager to wet her burning throat. She was greeted by the sound of a small spring. She laughed happily and began lapping up the water until her throat no longer burned. After drinking a large amount of water, Joanna gave out a sigh of relief. She rested for a little bit by the spring, before turning to her next priority; food. She began to sniff around for something to eat, her nose held high in air and her tongue darting out. She kept looking until she caught a whiff of something that made her smile and hiss happily. Carrion. Also know as a carcass of a dead animal.

Being a goanna, Joanna was a carrion eater. Joanna followed the scent until she found the carcass of a dead razorback boar . It had apparently died of thirst before reaching the spring. Joanna licked her lips and began to eat the meat, which was still rather fresh. Joanna ate her fill, and when she was done, sat under a nearby rock, to catch some shade and recover her energy.  
Joanna sighed and closed her eyes to take a little nap.

Across the way, over by a small canyon, a sign of human habitation stood. A gortex tent and a fire pit made from local stone gave away a campsite. Off to the side, a green Land Rover with the logo of the University of Melbourne on the door sat, and inside the back lay a young woman, whittling at a stick from a eucalyptus tree. The woman was 26 year old Joan Atkinson, a graduate of the University of New South Wales and senior professor of herpetology at the University of Melbourne. Joan was tall and slender, with a tanned skin that spoke of many hours in the outdoors. Her jade green eyes sparkled with the intense focus that characterized her, both as a researcher and as a diligent worker. Her hair was long and chestnut brown. She wore a pair of brown hiking boots, khaki shorts, and a green University of Melbourne faculty shirt. Her hands bore calouses that testified to much difficult outdoor work, but for the most part remained soft.

She was currently on a special project for the school's biology faculty. The Outback was undergoing the worst drought imaginable, and Joan was out now, studying the local goanna and perrenti populations so see how they were adapting to extreme drought conditions. Joan kept whittling for about ten minutes until she thought she could go and explore the wooded areas.

Lizards often came out around this time to drink and sun themselves, so she saw a chance to observe one. She walked from her campsite for about ten minutes before she came upon the spring... and Joanna. The blue goanna was still sleeping. Joan marveled at the sight of her.  
She was a good size for a goanna. Joan pulled out a small digital camera and took a picture. She could use this for her class. She also took out a sketch pad and began to draw the lizard. Joan was careful to stay quiet as to not wake the sleeping reptile. Joanna stirred when a fly landed on her nose. Joan giggled. She decided to get a little closer. Joan carefully crept over to the sleeping lizard, careful not to make too much noise. It didn't work, for an unseen twig cracked under her booted foot. The sound was almost like a gunshot in the silence. Joanna jumped up and, seeing Joan, hissed angrily at her in a threat display. Joan gasped and dropped her sketch pad and pencil.  
Joanna hissed again, angry at being disturbed. Joan kept her distance. Joanna softened when she realized Joan wasn't about to attack her. Joan was still nervous. She decided to back away.  
Joanna, surprisingly, began to follow her. Maybe this human had some extra food with her. Joan continued to back away more until she realized she forgot her sketch pad and pencil. Joanna watched her. Joan cautiously crept forward to retrieve them. Joanna was curious to what Joan was getting. She decided to go over and see.

Joanna slowly crept until she stepped on something. It turned out to be Joan's notebook. Joan, picked up her pencil and waited for Joanna to move so she could get her sketch pad. Joanna stared at her. Joan stared at Joanna as well. Joanna flicked her tongue. Joan carefully gestured for Joanna to move so she could get her sketch pad. The large goanna looked at Joan's sketch pad. She lifted her foot. Joanna was surprised at what she saw on the paper. "Yeah, I was drawing you." Joan said, almost by instinct.

Joanna looked at the sketch pad for a little bit longer. She then did something amazing. She picked up the pad in her mouth and handed it to Joan. Joan's mouth hung open. She had never seen this behavior in a goanna before. It was almost as though this one were accustomed to humans. Joan decided to try something with the goanna. It was risky though. She was going to try to pet her. Joan slowly reached her hand out to Joanna. Joanna shied away at first, unsure of what the human was doing. But soon she realized the human was trying to pet her. It had been a long time since she had been pet, and she held her head out eagerly. Joan then gently stroked Joanna's head. "Wow." said Joan.  
Joanna got a contented look on her face. She enjoyed being touched, when it wasn't a swat or a kick. Joanna made a noise that sounded like purring. Joan smiled. "You must be tamed." she said. Joanna smiled. Joan's first thought was that she was part of the illegal black market pet trade. Poachers looking for exotic animals to sell had decimated some of the local lizard and snake populations in this part of the Outback, something that irked Joan to no end. Joanna seemed to like this human. She also thought how she would react to the fact that she worked for a poacher. "Looks like your owner couldn't keep you." she said. That was all to common with exotic animals like goannas. Once they got too big, they were turned loose, to die in the wild. Joan then thought for a moment. An inheritance from her wealthy grandfather had netted her a large home in Melbourne (though she preferred the outdoors). She could take the lizard in and give it a home. "You want to come home with me?" Joan asked. She wasn't expecting an answer. Joanna stood silent and still, as though contemplating. She then gave the lizard equivalent of a smile and hissed happily. Joan giggled. "All right then." she said "Consider yourself a member of the Atkinson family." Joanna then, crawled up closer to Joan and flicked her tongue at her cheek. Joan laughed. "Well first you're going to need a name." she said. Joanna spotted something interesting. She saw a personalized towel with "Joan" knitted into it. She went over, pulled it down and stretched it out. Then, she scrawled out a crude "NA" in the sand next to it. Joan knew what this meant. "You have a name already." she said. Joanna nodded. "Joanna hmm?" Joan said. "It fits you." Joanna smiled. Joan pet her before hanging the towel back up. "Hungry?" Joan asked. Joanna jumped and spun around happily. Joan laughed. "I'll take that as a yes." she said. She led Joanna back to her campsite and poked around in her icebox, withdrawing a pair of juicy steaks. "Come to think of it I'm hungry too." Joan said. Joanna licked her lips at the scent of the steak. Joan giggled.  
She put the steaks on the grill she had set up over the fire. Joanna watched, almost drooling at the thought of how they would taste. Joan cooked the steaks to medium, her preferred setting, and then put them on two plates. Joanna smiled and began to eat hers when it was given to her.  
"Careful, you'll choke." Joan said. "Oh great, now I sound like my mother." She laughed.

Seeing a large reptile with Joan attracted a lot of attention from other campers.  
"Don't worry, this one's tame." Joan said. The other campers came over to take pictures. Joanna seemed to thrive on the attention. She even posed a couple of times. It was then that Joan spotted something in the distance. A plume of dust indicating an approaching car. Probably more campers, she thought.  
As the car came into focus, however, she saw that it was a white jeep. Most strikingly, it bore the insignia of the Australian Army. "Hmm." said Joan. Joanna perked her head up as the military vehicle approached. When it stopped, two uniformed military police emerged and approached her. "Dr. Joan Atkinson?" One of them, a sergeant, asked her. "That's me." Joan replied. "How can I help you?" Joanna watched in curiosity from behind Joan's tent. "I'm Sergeant James Rollins with the Australian Army." he said. "We've been ordered to bring you back to Melbourne." he said. "What's happened?" she asked. "I'll explain everything on the way." he said. "You must hurry, doctor." he said.  
It's quite urgent." Joan nodded and began packing up her things, going as fast as she could. Joanna watched her. Once she was all packed up, she loaded her equipment into the land rover, which one of the MPs took over, much to her chagrin. She climbed into the Army jeep, Joanna jumping in with her. When the MP gave a curious look, Joan pet her. "She's tame." She said. The MP shrugged and started the jeep, driving off towards Melbourne with the land rover behind them.


End file.
